Verbena officinalis Bampton Seeds

Verbena officinalis 'Bampton' is a graceful and colourful plant. This airy and light variety combines purple-tinged foliage with an endless purple-pink bloom that undulates in the wind. It is a short-lived but undemanding, drought-tolerant perennial. This honey-bearing verbena has its place in a rural and natural setting. It can be reseeded over and over again on rich, well-drained, rather dry soil.

Native to Europe, verbena can be found in all uncultivated, stony and trampled places. It gives its name to the Verbenaceae family. The 'Bampton' variety, discovered in Bampton, Devon, is distinguished by its large size, up to 1m (3ft) high and 40cm (16cm) wide. It also stands out with its strongly purple foliage. Its flowers are more colourful than those of the type species, and are of a pink colour with a purplish-mauve hue. The plant first forms a basal tuft, flattened to the ground. The toothed leaves are cut into lobes. They are aromatic and give off a rather pungent smell. Flowering lasts from June to October. It takes the form of tall, quadrangular, hairy, spindly, branched, and somewhat dishevelled purple-green stems that sway in the wind. They bear many small asymmetrical flowers with 5 fused petals. The flowers are rich in nectar and are popular with butterflies and other foragers. This plant has been used for a very long time for its many medicinal properties. In particular, it can heal wounds.

Verbena 'Bampton' loves the sun. It can grow in dry, stony, and poor soil, but it does look best in fairly rich garden soil that is well drained. The mother plant disappears after a few years, but in good conditions, the plant reseeds (sometimes abundantly) and will thus ensure its longevity in the garden. Take care to select the purplest seedlings, as not all of them will be true to the beautiful original colour.

Place your Verbena 'Bampton' in a large flower bed, mixed with gauras, pink or blue shrub sage, autumn asters (Aster cordifolius 'Little Carlow'), and stonecrop (Sedum 'Matrona'), for example. The scene will be remarkable at the end of the season. It will also go very well with Clematis recta 'Purpurea' and a grass such as Panicum 'Purple Breeze'. You can also grow this verbena in a large pot to liven up the balcony or patio for many weeks.